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Boulder Start Up week starts up on Wednesday
0May 14, 2013
Boulder start Up week is developing from an elitist all white college aged “new entrepreneurial vision of neo -com American business run by wine and coffee snobs” to something that the city of Boulder has endorsed and made an official event. In it’s early days BSUW was an invite, register only press censored event. Much of it was low on substance and high on partying. Don’t get us wrong Boulder start Up week is still a week long drinking convention for 20 and early 30 somethings, but it now has to conform to city strict Human rights policies. Read. It is now open to the public, press and the homeless.
Some of the more serious presentations for entrepreneurs are held by Metzger and Associates and the Boulder Chamber who bring in qualified mentors to actually assist aspiring Start Ups. Yet the week is an overt promotion to attract tech companies to Boulder. Look at the schedule of events and much of it partying drinking. Boulder has a huge rep for drinking drugging and partying in the start Up scene and for those looking for that, you won’t be disappointed. Yet, the schedule has tons of events and with a discerning eye you are bound to find something useful.
“What is Boulder Startup Week?
Each May, we throw a 5-day event that showcases the unique startup culture of Boulder. No registration required. You’ll find meetups, coffee shop pow-wows, the largest Ignite in the world, parties, drinks, food, hikes, bike rides, sun, and good people.
Wednesday is the official launch of Boulder Startup Week 2013. People from across the Front Rage will be flocking to Boulder to get a taste of the entrepreneurial culture and what it means to get an idea off the ground.
Here is Boulder start Up week Schedule
Maybe you’re in search of a co-founder. Maybe you need workshops to help your ideas to take shape.
Maybe you just need beer.mWhatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it over the five-day span of this year’s Boulder Startup Week. We’ve created a dang-near definitive go-to guide to help you get the most out of the week. Buckle up and let’s go.
Looking for a gig? There’s an entire listing of who’s hiring.
Need the schedule? You can access each day’s events right here.
Want to attend an event? Each event on the calendar has an Eventbrite link. BE SURE TO REGISTER. Many events are beyond full at this point. While some don’t have max capacities, some do. Be sure to check the Eventbrite link on each event before you just show up.Going to Ignite Boulder on the 15th? It’s sold out. Be glad you scored tickets. If you need tickets, sending out a tweet can sometimes help as can standing in front of the Boulder Theater to snag a spare from people who have already bought tickets and have a spare.Need to get to Boulder Startup Week? Catch the Uber Express Bus. The bus schedule is right here. Buses are running multiple times per day between Denver and Boulder to make it easy.Have you registered to attend Boulder Beta? Well, why not? It’s kinda the big shindig of the whole week. Tickets are $15 and available here.Need to feed? Nearly every day features breakfast and lunch sessions, sponsored by some of the coolest startups in Boulder. Be sure to say thank you as you breeze by and grab that pancake, breakfast burrito, or lunchtime taco-and-beer.For more information, stop by the Boulder Startup Week popuptent on Pearl Street. See you there!
some information was gathered from Erica Napalatono and Boulder Startup website
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CU officers deploy non-lethal weapons to make an arrest
0April 20, 2013
At around 11:30 p.m. on April 19, 2013, the University of Colorado Police Department was dispatched to the area of 30th Street and Baseline Road on the report of a possible hit-and-run accident. Officers found the suspect’s vehicle, an older-model van with heavy front-end damage, at the Bear Creek Apartments parking lot. Officers approached the van and saw Jayme Lee McCoy, 32, of Boulder, seated in the second row with his dog, described as a pit bull. McCoy ignored commands to show his hands, muttered incoherent statements and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
An officer opened the side door of the van and repeatedly shouted at McCoy to show his hands. Officers saw that McCoy was holding a knife. Officers continued to talk to the suspect and ask for his cooperation, but McCoy remained in the vehicle for a few minutes. McCoy then kissed his dog on the head and unleashed it. McCoy emerged from the van with his right hand tucked behind his right leg as if he might be holding a weapon. The suspect came toward officers and continued to ignore commands to show his hands. An officer deployed a Taser stun gun on the suspect, but it proved ineffective. Two other officers deployed a Taser stun gun and multiple PepperBall projectiles. At the same time, the suspect’s dog ran toward officers in an aggressive manner. An officer fired a bean-bag shotgun round at the dog, but it does not appear the dog was struck. The animal quickly fled the scene. McCoy was placed under arrest and transported to Boulder Community Hospital with minor injuries. A knife was recovered near the location where McCoy was arrested.
McCoy was arrested on the following charges:
- Felony menacing
- Obstructing a peace officer
- Disorderly conduct
- Traffic charges: Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, failing to remain at the scene after damaging another vehicle, driving a vehicle without a driver’s license and recording a second DUI offense.
According to CU-Boulder databases, McCoy is not a CU student or employee. McCoy has an extensive criminal background in multiple states for charges related to resisting arrest, obstructing a peace officer, burglary, weapons violations and drugs.
The Boulder Police Department is investigating the hit-and-run accident near 30th Street and Baseline Road.
The Case Number is 13-1008. The case report will not be available until at least Monday, April 22.
-CU police press release-
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Buff golfers rise to the top of the heap
0April 10, 2013
BUFFs FINISH SECOND AT WYOMING COWBOY CLASSIC SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. —
The University of Colorado men’s golf team had quite the final tune-up for the Pac-12 Championship later this month, as the Buffaloes used near-record improvement from one round to the next to jump from seventh into a second place finish in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic here Tuesday.
Colorado turned in the low round of the wind-shortened tournament, a 6-under 274 for a two round total of 580, second only to Gonzaga, which turned a 275 in the second round for a 574 overall score. CU had opened with a 306 score in extremely windy conditions Monday, which forced the cancellation of the second round after a nearly six hour first round, in which only two of the 24 teams in the field broke 300; on Tuesday in much calmer weather, all but one shot better than 300. No. 22 St. Mary’s (Calif.) and No. 40 Tulsa tied for third at 582, with Pac-12 rival Arizona fifth at 584. First round leader Wichita State fell to sixth with a 587 count. The Buffs, ranked No. 64 by GolfStat and No. 74 by Golfweek, defeated five teams ranked ahead of them and improved their record against Division I competition this season to 96-53.
It’s the third time that Colorado has finished either first or second in a tournament five times in a season: in 1980-81, the Buffs won two and had three runner-up efforts as they have done this year, and in 2008-09, CU had one win and four seconds. The team’s 32-stroke improvement from one round to the next was the second best in school annals; in the 1985 Air Force Falcon Invitational, the Buffs shot a first round 414 and then a second round 381 for a 33-shot improvement. That was a six player-five scorer tournament; the previous best in the more common five-for-four was 29-strokes in the 2005 PING-Arizona Intercollegiate (312 to 283 between the first and second rounds). “A great job by the team today, and any time you shoot the low round of the day in a tournament you are excited,” head coach Roy Edwards said.
“To do it in a field of 24 teams and in the final round is particularly satisfying. We didn’t play very well yesterday, but the team really battled in very challenging conditions and was in position to shoot a low score.” All five CU designated scorers improved their scores Tuesday, led by junior Johnny Hayes, who rallied to fire a 1-under 69 after an 85 on Monday – the 16-stroke improvement tied for the fourth largest in CU history, trailing the top best of 18 (John Nyuli in the 1990 Miami-Doral Invitational, when he shot a second round 90 and a final round 72), and two 17 shot make ups (Rick Cramer at the 1989 New Mexico Tucker Invitational and Edward McGlasson in the 2002 Prestige at PGA West). Hayes vaulted from 116th place in the standings into a tie for 80th on the 7,133-yard, par-70 Talking Stick North Course layout with his 154, or 14-over par score. Senior Jason Burstyn lopped off nine strokes between rounds, with his 76-67—143 (3-over) effort tying him for 10th, as he moved up from 27th. He was among the leaders in par-3 (sixth) and par-4 (14th) scoring. Freshman Philip Juel-Berg did the same, as he fashioned a 79-70—149 scorecard here to tie for 40th, jumping 30 spots; his 25 pars were a team high and tied for the 14th most in the field. CU’s top finisher was senior Derek Fribbs, who tied for seventh. He had posted CU’s best first round score with a 4-over 74, and he managed to shave six strokes off that effort with a 2-under 68 for a 36-hole total of 142. He tied for the third most birdies in the field here with seven, played the two par-5 holes here at 3-under, tied for the best overall, and the 12 par-4 holes here at 4.08 per, sixth best. “Jason and Derek played really solid and Johnny did an awesome job of coming back from a poor first round,” Edwards said. “The team should be proud, but we need to continue to work and improve every day leading up to the Pac-12 Championship. We are fortunate to have a great group of guys who I know are very excited to keep getting better.” Sophomore David Oraee rounded out the CU scorers, finishing with a 77-76—153 (13-over) score, which tied him for 72nd. Redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo played as an individual here, and he tied for 95th (77-79—156). UC-Santa Barbara junior Glen Scher captured medalist honors with a 70-68—138, the only player under par in the tournament; there was a four-way tie for second with those players at an even par 140. The average score for 250 rounds here was almost six over par at 75.88, though it dropped from 78.64 to 73.06 between the two rounds. The Pac-12 Championships are in three weeks, set for April 29-May 1 at Los Angeles Country Club. Colorado appears to be peaking at the right time: the Buffs are 11-29 this year against Pac-12 opposition, but the bulk of that damage came in three tournaments, including the first two out of the chute this spring where the Buffs were 0-24; CU is 6-1 against league brethren in the last month.
by David Plati Associate AD/Sports Information University of Colorado Buffaloes 357 UCB / Fieldhouse Annex #50 Boulder, CO 80309-0357 303/492-5626 (office)
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Injury ends Webb’s football career at CU-maybe…
0April 10, 2013
ACL tears haunt the Buffs–first Richarson then Webb. “It’s just another obstacle to overcome,” Webb says.
BOULDER — University of Colorado senior quarterback Jordan Webb has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is out for the 2013 season.
Webb suffered the injury early in Tuesday’s practice in a non-contact drill, making an ordinary cut when he collapsed on the field. An MRI in the evening revealed the damage, though it was limited to the ACL as other ligaments and cartilage were fine, according to CU trainer Miguel Rueda.
“This is very sad for Jordan,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “We all feel for him. He was doing well in practice, competing again for the starting job, and for this to happen and to lose him for the season is just a shame.
“Jordan is a great young man, one who represents our program well, both on the field and off it as a graduate student in a tough major field of study (Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity).”
Webb completed 144-of-265 passes for 1,434 yards last season, with eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions. His best game was in CU’s lone win in 2012, a 35-34 verdict at Washington State, when he threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns along with a game winning 4-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal with 9 seconds remaining.
“It’s another obstacle that I have to overcome,” Webb said. “I’ve rebounded from adversity before so this is just another challenge I have to face.”
He was named CU’s starting quarterback last August 15, just ahead of the first major scrimmage of fall camp; he joined the CU program in July after completing all his degree requirements at the University of Kansas. He took advantage of an NCAA rule which allows a player to continue his career, provided if he has time remaining on his 5-year eligibility clock, and the school he transfers to has a program that is not offered at his previous university. He started 19 games for the Jayhawks.
A fifth-year senior, Webb will work with CU’s compliance office to determine if he can earn a sixth year of eligibility; his freshman year at Kansas (2009) he was redshirted, in part due to the fact that he had torn an abdominal muscle in camp and couldn’t return to practice again until well into the season.
The irony is that Webb suffered the same exact injury that wide receiver Paul Richardson did one year to the day; Richardson tore his ACL on April 9, 2012, and eventually was able to practice on a limited basis toward the end of the season, taking a medical redshirt season he had available to him. It’s much too early to know if Webb has the same kind of improvement during the rehab process if he could be available later in the year should the NCAA deem him not eligible for a sixth year of competition.
Colorado Buffaloes
David Plati
Associate AD/Sports Information
University of Colorado
357 UCB / Fieldhouse Annex #50
Boulder, CO 80309-0357
303/492-5626 (office)
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Buff golfers rally at UCI invitational for 4th place
0March 26, 2013
Juel-Berg Ties For 10th, Buffs Rally From Eighth
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — The University of Colorado men’s golf team rallied for a fourth place finish here Tuesday as the UC-Irvine Anteater Invitational came to a close.
The Buffaloes started the day in eighth place after two uncharacteristically bad rounds on Monday, but rallied to shoot the best team score on Tuesday (by some six shots) and the second best round overall in the tournament.
Long Beach State (ranked No. 85) won the event with an 891 team score (27-over par), edging Cal State-Fullerton (No. 90) by three shots; the two entered the final round tied for the lead. Host and No. 77 UC-Irvine finished third (895), with Colorado overtaking four schools to finish fourth with a 42-over 906 total.
The Buffaloes were the highest ranked team competing here (No. 71 in the latest Golfweek rankings), and played like it Tuesday. Assistant coach Jon Levy coached the team here, as head coach Roy Edwards was in Kansas City attending his grandmother’s funeral. Levy had said after Monday’s play that, “This is the kind of golf course that if you have a good round, you can leapfrog a lot of teams, and that’s our goal (Tuesday) to go out and do just that.” He turned out be absolutely correct.
“We absolutely held to our game plan today, and that was the difference,” Levy said. “This was a tough course, probably one of the toughest we’ve played all year. Our game plan was to play conservatively and let the other teams make the mistakes. We knew we would have to take some bogeys, but let the other teams make the big numbers and we’d be satisfied with pars on the tougher holes. The pin locations were challenging and the greens were firm, but we did a great job of not short siding the ball today. We literally improved 100 percent on that.”
The five Buffs competing here totaled 17 birdies compared to just 16 for two rounds on Monday, and recorded just 19 bogeys, both bests in the 11-team field Tuesday.
Starting on No. 10, a deceivingly hard hole, CU scored four bogeys and a quadruple, but the players were in the right frame of mind out of the gate: no one in the 69-man field birdied the hole and only 25 were able to score par. From that point on, the four players who scored for CU collectively played even par golf the remaining 18 holes.
Freshman Philip Juel-Berg paced the Buffaloes here, as he tied for 10th after finishing up with a 1-over 73 for a 7-over 223 total for 54 holes on the 7,060-yard, par-72 El Niguel Country Club course. He had a team-best six birdies Tuesday, with six pars, five bogeys and a double. His 11 birdies for the tournament led the Buffs and also tied for the third-most in the field, as did his playing the par-5 holes at 5-under overall. His 15 holes over par were also a team low as he finished in the top 10 for a second straight tournament.
Senior Jason Burstyn turned in CU’s best score in the final round, a 1-under 71 that propelled him into a tie for 21st (up from 40th); he finished with an 11-over 227 score and he closed with an eagle, three birdies and 10 pars against four bogeys. He was 2-under at one point before scoring a pair of quick bogeys, but he came back with his eagle on the par-5 sixth hole to get back under for the round. He was the lone Buff not score worse than a bogey the entire tournament.
Senior Derek Fribbs and redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo tied for 24th individually (after both entered the day tied for 35th); they each scored 2-over par 74s to wrap things up, closing with 13-over 229 totals. Fribbs had three birdies and 11 pars in his round (against three bogeys and a double), closing on a wild ride his last four holes (birdie, double, bogey, birdie), while Trujillo had two birdies, 12 pars and four bogeys; he was 3-over after 10 but had his two birdies on the way in.
Sophomore David Oraee finished with a second consecutive 78, giving him a 23-over par 239 total, which tied him for 52nd. He opened with a quadruple bogey 8 on No. 10, when his drive kicked to the left and went out of bounds by all of three inches, and then followed that up with a double on No. 11, but then was able to gather himself and finish the remaining 16 holes even, scoring three birdies, 10 pars and three bogeys along the way.
Loyola-Marymount’s Connor Campbell claimed medalist honors, closing with a 1-under 71 that gave him a 216 total – the only player in the field to shoot par or better for the tournament. He defeated second round leader, Long Beach State’s Daniel Chin, by one stroke.
“We wanted to build some momentum today going into a really big event coming up,” Levy added. “That was the message we talked about last night. Play loose, don’t play so tight; out there and have some fun.”
The Buffaloes will now head up the coast to Palo Alto, where they will compete in the Stanford U.S. Intercollegiate this Thursday through Saturday.
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“Big Dance” jitters end CU women’s tourney bid
0March 24, 2013
After opening the game with a 14-4 run, the Buff’s hands turned as cold as the weather outside.
Chucky Jeffery is one of the best players in CU history and a first round loss won’t diminish the fact.
But scoring the fifth fewest points of the season while allowing the second most was not a formula for success for the Colorado women’s basketball team, as five Kansas players scored in double figures to lead the Jayhawks to a 67-52 upset over the host Buffaloes in an NCAA Women’s Tournament first round game here Saturday.
Chucky Jeffery
Seniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich led the scored 14 points apiece for Kansas (19-13, the 12th seed in the Norfolk Region), which basically limped into the tournament after losing six of its last eight games (and 11 of 18). But the Jayhawks, after falling behind by 10 early, played the like the team that opened the year with seven straight wins on their way to an 11-2 start.
Colorado (25-7, seeded No. 5), was playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, but had to make a go of it without starting center Rachel Hargis, who suffered a knee injury in practice a week ago Friday. It’s safe to say CU missed the junior’s 6-foot-4 presence inside, not only her rebounding but her ability to alter shots.
Colorado started out 6-of-7 from the field in building an early 14-4 edge, but then went cold the rest of the way in the first half (5-of-27) and missed its first seven shots of the second half before a Brittany Wilson layup at 14:02 ended the drought. Meanwhile, KU shot 50 percent in the first half (15-of-30), closing with 11 makes in 18 tries; the Jayhawks made 5-of-6 to open the second for a 16-of-24 performance while turning a 15-9 deficit into a 49-29 lead, the first of two 20-point advantages it had in the game (the other coming at 56-36).
It all added up to a whopping 45-15 comeback after Colorado recorded that early lead.
Rachel Hargis knee injury opened up the low post for the Jayhawks two centers
If the Buffaloes were going to get back in it, they needed a quick start in the second half. But the Jayhawks were not to be denied, scoring the first six points to extend their 10-point intermission lead to 43-27. The margin hovered between 14 points, the closest the Buffs would get on three different occasions, and 18 the remainder of the game.
Kansas opened the scoring on a Davis layup but then Colorado went on a 14-2 run in just over a two minute span, fueled by eight points, including a pair of 3-point baskets, by junior Brittany Wilson. The Jayhawks slowly worked their way back into the game, pulling to within 15-13 on consecutive scores by Monica Engelman at the 11:19 mark. A three-pointer by Lexy Kresl and a layup from Chuck Jeffery put the Buffs back up by seven, 20-13 with 9:12 left in the half.
KU then matched and actually exceeded CU’s early run with one of its own, using a 17-3 spree over the next five-plus minutes to take a 30-23 lead, with Davis and Chelsea Gardner each contributing six points. Davis had 10 points in the half, which ended with a Charlicia Harper three-point shot to give the Jayhawks a 37-27 lead.
“We came out and it was rainin’ in here, and then after a while we couldn’t hit anything,” Wilson said. “I mean, we had open shots, I just think … I don’t really know what happened. Then there were open shots, and we kept saying, ‘just step into it and take another shot.’ I don’t know if it was nervousness, I don’t know what it was, but after a while we just couldn’t hit anything.”
Colorado finished just 16-of-63 from the field, the 25.4 shooting percentage easily its worst of the season. The Buffs came into the game hitting at 39.9 percent, while Kansas was allowing its opponents to click at just 41.1 percent. The Jayhawks converted 46 percent of its tries; otherwise, the only other decided statistical advantages belong to Kansas in assists (16-8) and to Colorado in steals (13-5) and free throw attempts (25-6).
It was just the ninth time in 32 games that the Buffaloes trailed at halftime, and only Stanford had a larger lead at intermission over CU than the Jayhawks; the Cardinal, ranked fourth at the time, led 31-14 en route to a 57-40 win in Boulder back on January 4. In addition, Kansas tied CU on the boards with 42, just the seventh time this year the Buffs did not hold the edge in rebounding; Colorado was 0-5 when getting outrebounded and 1-1 when matched.
Arielle Roberson recorded a double-double for Colorado, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds; Wilson tied her for the team scoring lead, also netting 11. Jeffery struggled in her final appearance in a CU uniform, scoring just eight points on 2-of-16 field goal shooting, but did have five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
“It’s very disappointing,” Jeffery said of ending the season this way. “We didn’t want it to end this early. It’s kind of sad being my last game, but I wouldn’t have gone through the season with any other team.”
Jeffery finished her career ranked high on several of CU’s all-time charts, including scoring (1,644 points, sixth), rebounds (921, fifth), assists (481, fourth) and steals (283, fourth). She finished with the fifth most double-doubles (30) and had at least one assist in her last 74 games (and in 123 of 125 for her career).
“No one expected us to be here right now,” Wilson added. “But you know I think that’s a great thing. Chucky has her legacy here, and Megan has her legacy here, and I think we sent them out in a great way. I’m disappointed to lose, and of course no one thought we’d end this early. But we had a great year, and no one expected us to do the things that we’ve done. But when we look back, and once the sting of this is over we’ll be ready to come back.”
Kansas will meet South Carolina Monday night for the right to advance to the Norfolk Regional next weekend; tipoff at the Coors Events Center is 7:30 p.m.
South Carolina Advances With 74-52 Win Over South Dakota State
BOULDER — Seniors Ashley Bruner and Ieasia Walker each scored 15 points to pace four Gamecock players in double figures to lead South Carolina over South Dakota State, 74-52, in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament here Saturday afternoon.
South Carolina, ranked No. 14 in the nation by the coaches and No. 17 by the Associated Press, pulled away from the Jackrabbits midway through the first half. The score was tied six times and there were eight lead changes, with South Dakota State taking its last lead at 14-13 with 12:02 to play; it remained within two, 21-19, at the 9:34 mark but that’s when the Gamecocks found their stride.
Six different South Carolina players contributed in a 21-4 run over the six minutes that broke the game open, with Tiffany Mitchell scoring five and Walker four to give USC a 40-23 lead; the Gamecocks, seeded No. 4 in the Norfolk Regional, led 44-26 at halftime. South Carolina shot 61 percent in the first half, including 7-of-9 shots in the decisive run.
South Dakota State (25-8, the No. 13 seed) made a couple of mini-runs in the second half, but would get no closer than 15. Senior Ashley Eide led the Jackrabbits with 15 points, the only SDSU player in double figures, with sophomore Gabby Boever adding nine.
Bruner had a double-double, as she collected 11 rebounds for the Gamecocks (25-7), who owned a 40-28 advantage on the boards; she also had a game-high four steals. Elem Ibian scored 13 points off the bench and Mitchell had 11, as no South Carolina starter played over 29 minutes.
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Preview NCAA Colorado/Kansas game–coaches quotes
0March 22, 2013
Linda Lappe, Colorado Head Coach:
On playing their best basketball late in the season:
“I think we are playing our best. I am so excited that we had a chance to play Stanford in our last game. I think Stanford really helps up prepare for the next level, which is now. It was a blessing in disguise – nobody wants to play Stanford because they are so talented and they run their system very well and I think they’re going to do really well in the Tournament. For us to be able to play a top-notch team like that before a long layoff and having to play some really good basketball, it was going to be key for us. We’re going to use a lot of those things we learned from that game. We watched a lot of film after that game. We’re going to take a lot of different things offensively and defensively from that and I think it’s going to help us as we go into the Kansas game tomorrow.”
On Kansas’ experience:
“Kansas has some experience and they have seniors on the floor that start for them that have played a lot of games that have been through the Big 12. They do have more NCAA Tournament experience than we do, but I think last year was their first year and they were able to get to the Sweet 16, so it doesn’t always mean a lot and doesn’t mean everything for sure. Us being home neutralizes their experience in the NCAA Tournament. We’ve tried to keep things as consistent as possible throughout this last week to be able to manage our emotions as we go into tomorrow’s game. Obviously there’s going to be some butterflies and some jitters, but the biggest thing is to make sure you’re cool, calm and collected and playing the way you always play, whether it was playing California, Stanford, or Louisville, or Wyoming, we have to go into this game exactly how we went into the rest of those games. If we do that, I think we’re going to have a high chance of success.”
On hosting an NCAA Tournament:
“It is a great thing to host the NCAA Tournament. I’m really grateful for our administration, for [Athletic Director] Mike Bohn, for bidding on the tournament. It’s a huge advantage. He believed that we would be in the tournament and that’s why you want to host. You want to give your home school as much of a chance to get out of the first two rounds as you possibly can. I’m so happy that Colorado has been gracious enough, not only financially, but with our resources, our people. Our employees here have done a lot to make this tournament a really good success.”
On playing Kansas:
“It was just a couple years that we played them three times and twice every other year. I think I played them eight times in my career. We feel a very good familiarity with Kansas. I think [Kansas head coach] Bonnie [Henrickson] does a tremendous job with her team. She always has them prepared. She always has them ready. She’s done a nice job of turning their program around. When she got it, it wasn’t nearly what it is now. I have a lot of respect for what she’s been able to do. I know one of our assistants picked her brain asking: ‘How did she do it? How did she turn it around?’ Because when we got the job, it was very similar. I have a lot of respect for what she’s been able to do. Kansas, in general, we know what they’re about. We know that they play in a good conference and we’re just excited to be able to play an old opponent in the NCAA Tournament.”
On Ariel Roberson’s development after redshirting last year:
“Anybody who’s had to redshirt, I would want them to do what Ariel did. That is, she was very engaged. She did her rehab during practice. She made sure she watched. She understood what our team was lacking last year and something she could bring this year. Part of that is consistency. Part of it is competitive fire. Ariel is a competitor and she loves to win. She wants to take big shots. She wants to make big stops on the defensive end. She’s a really good defender as well. What she was able to do was watch and learn and to see positioning and how important that is. People who go from playing to coaching right away, they don’t realize how much they were missing as a player. She had an opportunity to sit and watch and to be able to see all those things that maybe everybody else wasn’t able to see. She used it as an advantage for her. The other thing she did was to continually work on her shot. Even when she couldn’t really bend her knees or do anything like that, as soon as she could stand, even before she could stand, she would sit in a chair and shoot. She did anything she could do, basketball-wise, before she could even be on the court. She kept her touch and I think it really helped her shot. She shot it well this year, better than she ever did in high school. I think she utilized that year to get better at something. She is the one you want every injured player to watch and emulate because she did it the right way and that’s helped her this year.”
FIRST PRACTICE DAY QUOTES – Kansas
Bonnie Henrickson, Kansas Head Coach:
On scouting Colorado:
“Defensively, not only in their numbers because numbers can be deceiving, but when you watch them on film and see how well they play together. They can choreograph some things defensively, but they also play some great position defense. They play really well together. Look at their defensive field goal numbers and they are in the top three in all the team defensive stats in the Pac-12. They play the top of that league tough in one possession games. Watching them on field the numbers make sense. Sometimes you look at numbers and they do not always add up but theirs do. Angel [Goodrich] said it and she’s exactly right. Those pieces that were here two years ago are much improved. Chucky [Jeffery] was good as a sophomore. The Wilson twins were good as freshmen. Those kids have gotten better and that is a credit to their coaching to develop players. Obviously, Arielle [Roberson] is a phenomenal player. We recruited her and thought she would be a great player in our program. Certainly she has done everything that we thought she would be capable of. She plays both the three and the four. She shoots the three and she can put it on the floor. She is a tough kid. Rachel Hargis too, she was long and lanky and that hasn’t changed. From a fitness standpoint her body looks different on film then it did a couple years ago from our game over in Kansas City. The new players since we last played them are really impressive.”
On making the NCAA Tournament:
“We had quality wins over Creighton, Oklahoma and West Virginia and certainly stubbed our toe against Texas Tech. We were disappointed with a couple of our performances down the stretch but felt like we had six wins against the RPI top 60. Like the Pac-12 there are no off-nights in our league. The challenge is to be consistent every night and we knew that we hadn’t done that. We let a couple go at the end of the year. I knew it would be close when I looked at it. I thought there were 14 teams for six spots. I felt that our six wins against the top 60 RPI would speak for itself. At the very end you are splitting hairs. The committee starts to look at it and for us there were some wins that we had to have to get in certainly.”
On familiarity with the venue:
“We have never been to Little Rock and played pretty well there. From a confidence standpoint I see what you are saying. For me I said ‘Bus driver take a left here’ and I knew where we were. We went to dinner last night and I knew were we were. From a familiarity stand point between the two programs it is a wash. They know us and we know them. Chucky [Jeffery] knows our kids that were here. Our kids know her and both sets of twins. They are excited and they should be.”
On Carolyn Davis before and after her injury:
“In the beginning of the year her mobility and lateral movement wasn’t where it had been. Her rim to rim wasn’t where it had been. She is as good as she has been since the injury. Confidence wise she is as good as she has been. She has been more aggressive. She has attacked more with the ball in her hands. The thing she has done so well from the beginning at Kansas is how good she is without the ball early. She works hard and that never really changed. She has never been a real bouncy kid. She still has great hands and catches everything. If she can’t catch it, it is a really bad ball. She certainly is close to who she was last year.”
PLAYERS
Carolyn Davis, Kansas forward
On being nervous before getting into the NCAA Tournament:
“We’re not in there with the committee, so we don’t know what exactly got us in. We played out the season the best we could. We know there were a few games we lost, so we watched the selection show like everybody else, hoping we got in.”
On defending Colorado forward Arielle Roberson:
“She’s a great post player. She got Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. That’s a great honor for her. Luckily for us, we played against a lot of great, versatile post players in the Big 12 so we’ve been challenged with that. I think if we’re able to stay down and contain her on her penetration and guard the three, we’ll be okay.”
Angel Goodrich, Kansas Guard:
On scouting the matchup with Colorado:
“We played them two years ago, so we know some of the players, like Chucky Jeffery, and the two pairs of twins. They’ve grown their game a lot. They were good then, and they’ve gotten better. We just want to play together as a team, and do what we have to do to get the win.”
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Denver Auto Show 2013 Host: Jann Scott
0March 21, 2013
It’s Jann Scott’s 2013 Denver Auto Show TV Special. This year the auto show hosts over 35 car lines, showcasing the manufactures newest introductions. We’re going to check out some of the hottest cars on the market and get sneak peeks at some 2014 models as well as new innovations in green scene technologies, exotic sports cars, concept cars and custom tricked out specialty vehicles. All right now on Jann Scott’s 2013 Denver Auto Show.
More to Come Soon! Check Back everyday this week and next, the show is on!
O’Meara Ford – Classic Cars in the Service Area
Jann Scott’s Denver Auto Show TV Special, checks out the Classic Ford’s that O’Meara Ford keeps in their service area that they bring out when they have car shows, today they’re inside and we look at the Ford Fairlane, Gran Torino, Ford Thunderbird, Model T Ford, Model A Ford and the Shelby GT-500....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
O’Meara Ford – New 2013 Cars and the 100 Year Celebration
Jann Scott’s Denver Auto Show TV Special, visits O’Meara Ford and we learn about this historic Colorado Auto Dealership. Then we look at some of the Ford cars and trucks they have for this year including the Fusion, Escape, F-150, Super Duty, as well as the Mustang Boss 305, Shelby GT-500 and the Classic Ford GT. Also don’t miss their 100 Years, 1913 to 2013, celebration on the weekend of June 13th, 2013....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Denver Auto Show 2013
It's Jann Scott's 2013 Denver Auto Show TV Special. This year the auto show hosts over 35 car lines, showcasing the manufactures newest introductions. We’re going to check out some of the hottest cars on the market and get sneak peeks at some 2014 models as well as new innovations in green scene technologies, exotic sports cars, concept cars and custom tricked out specialty vehicles. All right now on Jann Scott’s 2013 Denver Auto Show....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Steve Doersam at Larry H. Miller Boulder Toyota
Jann Scott talks with Larry H. Miller Boulder Toyota General Manager, Steve Doersam for the first time in over a decade about the exciting new things happening with both the dealership, the service department and of course the new and improved Toyota Vehicles coming out this year....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Jann Scott’s 2013 Denver Auto Show Intro
Jann Scott introduces the 2013 Denver Auto Show Special. This year the Paragon Expo hosts over 35 car lines, showcasing the manufacturer's newest introductions. We’re going to check out some of the hottest cars on the market and get sneak peeks at some 2014 models as well as new innovations in green scene technologies, exotic sports cars, concept cars and custom tricked out specialty vehicles. All right now on Jann Scott’s 2014 Denver Auto Show....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Toyota Display at the 2013 Denver International Auto Show
We visit the Toyota Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show and look at the all new 2014 Toyota models, some still in production. The Avalon, Tundra, Rav-4. Prius cars and the Toyota Sienna Denver Zoo Elephant Passage special model....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Chevy Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
We visit the Chevy Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show and look at the all new 2014 Chevy Silverado, the Chevy Cruze, Chevy Corvette the Chevy Camaro....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Honda Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
We check out the new Honda cars on the Denver Auto Show floor, the Honda Accord, Honda Fit and Honda Pilot....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Kia Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
We get a look at some of the new Kia models on the Denver Auto Show floor, the Kia Soul, Kia Optima and the Kia Sorento....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Dodge Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
We visit the Dodge display at the Denver International Auto Show and look at 4 cars the Dodge Dart, Dodge Viper, Dodge Challenger and the Dodge Ram....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Jack TerHar talks Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Maserati’s and Jaguars at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
Jack TerHar shows us the hottest and most luxurious and expensive vehicles at the 2013 Denver International Auto Show, Lamborghini's, Aston Martins, Maserati's and Jaguars in particular....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Subaru Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
A lot of exciting vehicles from Subaru this year at the 2013 Denver International Auto Show we look at 4 of them: the 2014 Subaru Forester, the 2013 Subaru BRZ, the 2013 Subaru Crosstrek and the 2013 Subaru WRX/STI...>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Nissan Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
2 new Nissan automobiles for 2013 the Nissan Pathfinder and the Nissan GT-R.
The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder makes the transition from body-on-frame to unitized construction, and gains style, sophistication and fuel efficiency, while maintaining virtually all of its fundamental on/off-road capabilities. A powerful V6 engine, spacious 7-passenger cabin, the choice of front- or all-wheel drive and a standard 5,000-pound towing capacity further add to its formidable appeal.
The Nissan GT-R is innovation that redefines. When introduced, the GT-R completely rewrote the rules. And then, after it had turned the world on its ear, continued to improve, create and inspire. With an unmatched blend of technology and soul, the GT-R is a singular supercar, so intuitive anyone can drive it. So capable, it can be driven anytime and anywhere And for 2014, an all-new Track Edition raises performance to an even more amazing level....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Smart Car Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
Discover a car that has been perfectly designed for your everyday life. A car that offers maximum comfort, agility, safety, ecology and driving fun. A pioneering vehicle concept that is one of the best with its low CO2 emission figures. With the 2013 Smart Car, a little extra goes a long way. It’s sporty, fun and, most importantly, you can load it up with extras....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Jeep Display and Camp Jeep at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
Jeep has 2 spots at the 2013 Denver International Auto Show, the display where we look at Jeep's most famous car the all new 2013 Jeep Wrangler. If conquering mountains is your idea of cool, then you have to love a vehicle with the verve of a bulldog and the boulder-climbing ability of a billy goat. Its ancestors helped win World War II doesn't hurt its street credit, either. Then we get a peek at Camp Jeep where attendees get the opportunity to experience the extreme off-road capabilities of Jeep vehicles right on the Show floor! From rolling over rocks, climbing hills, and splashing through water, Camp Jeep takes the Denver Auto Show to a whole new level....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Scion Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
We check out 2 new cars from Scion, the 2013 Scion FR-S the latest addition to the Scion family of vehicles, with a front-mounted flat boxer engine the lightweight FR-S has motorsport running in its veins, is made for going places and designed for your drive there. Then the Scion iQ, don't let size fool you, this little car is loaded with big features, all within a modern, intelligent design....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Acura RDX Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
One part sport, one part luxury the Acura RDX is built for the size of your life, big when you need it to be and small when you don't. The result is a vehicle that provides the luxury and comfort of a large SUV with the moves and fuel economy of a small SUV, Intelligently built for the way you live your life, it fits. ...>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Mercedes-Benz Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
We visit the Mercedes section at the 2013 Denver International Auto Show and look at 2 cars the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA and the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS 63 AMG.
First the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS 63 AMG, its father was a racecar. Its brother is a racecar. Every helix of its DNA is evolved from 45 years of motorsports success and a never-ending passion to accelerate the art of driving. Nearly 60 years after the original SL changed the sports-car world and forever captured its heart, the all-new 6th generation SL-Class is at once a stunning original and a steadfast icon of driving passion. Then it’s the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA offers luxury quality, with front wheel drive, turbo and panorama sunroof , the CLA is the definition of “entry level.”...>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
VW Beetle Convertible Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
The 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible is still doing its own thing, only faster. This is the car that started it all. Sporting that instantly recognizable and timeless shape, it’s an icon and a whole lot of fun all wrapped into one. With an updated exterior and features inside that impress, the next generation of this classic is ready to excite all over again....>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Display at the 2013 Denver Auto Show
The Hyundai Santa Fe Sport for 2013 has split the Santa Fe into two models: the 5-passenger Santa Fe Sport and the 7-passenger Santa Fe. Both versions deliver the same mix of attractive styling and features-per-dollar value that continue to attract new fans for the brand. ...>[ READ | DISCUSS | SHARE ]
Find out more at Jann Scott’s 2013 Denver Auto Show Special
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CU women looking forward to playing an old opponent in NCAA tourney
0March 19, 2013
CU is matched against former Big Eight/12 Conference foe Kansas in its first game on Saturday, approximately 4:40 p.m., at the Coors Events Center. The Buffs (25-6) are a fifth seed, the Jayhawks (18-13) a 12th seed. A win would send CU against the winner of Saturday’s No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 13 South Dakota on Monday night, at 7:30 p.m., at the CEC. South Carolina and South Dakota State will tip at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday at Coors.
“I’m excited to play a Big 12 opponent; we spent a lot of years in the Big 12 and the Big Eight,” said coach Linda Lappe, who in her third season guided the Buffs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance 2004 and the 13th in school history.
Lappe initially believed another former Big 8/12 conference foe – Nebraska – might wind up matched against her team. She said she was “excited for that opportunity (but) Kansas is going to be a tough opponent; I think anybody who makes it into the NCAA is going to be high level competition.”
During their final years in the Big 12, the Jayhawks had the Buffs’ number – a 7-1 record against them in their last eight meetings. In Lappe’s first season (2010-11) at CU, KU won all three games (two regular season, one postseason tournament).
CU senior guard Chucky Jeffery can recall KU’s domination before the Buffs said goodbye and headed for the Pac-12.
“Oh yeah, we remember,” Jeffery said at a Selection Show gathering Monday afternoon. “As soon as our name and Kansas came up on the screen, we all looked at each other like, ‘This is our time right here’. So we’re excited to have them come and play on our home floor, it’s definitely going to be a good game.
“I think, like coach Lappe said, we are a better team on our home floor so they (Kansas) can bring as many fans as they need, but I think we are going to have a pretty good turnout and play well.”
The Buffs were one of four Pac-12 teams to make the NCAA Tournament, joining Stanford, California and UCLA. Those teams were responsible for CU’s five conference losses, with the Cardinal ousting the Buffs from the league’s postseason tournament. Stanford is a No. 1 seed, Cal a No. 2 and UCLA a No. 3.
Lappe said her team’s seeding in the 64-team field was near what she anticipated: “We were expecting a five or six, right in that area, so we’re happy with that. The committee took a look at what we did all season long and I felt like that was a great seed with the wins we were able to get and having no bad losses.
“I know the committee takes a lot of things into consideration so you never quite know where you are going to be, but we are happy with that seed. It shows the committee gives us a lot of respect.”
The Buffs’ 25 wins are the women’s program’s most since the 1995-96 team finished 26-9. CU’s all-time NCAA Tournament record is 17-12, which includes an 8-2 mark in first-round games (9-3 in opening games, reflecting two first-round byes).
When Boulder was chosen for a first-round site, CU’s goal was to be included in the four-team field. Lappe called playing at the CEC, where her team was 15-0 this season, “a huge advantage; it’s a place we’ve had success all year, we’ve had great fan support. Being able to have our fans come out and support us, I think it is going to be one of the best first and second round games in terms of attendance that you are going to find out there.
“I think having that support always helps you, but you can’t take that for granted, you still have to come out and you still have to play well. But to be able to sleep in our own beds and to be in our comfort zones and not have to travel will be something that really helps us out, and obviously I like the altitude as well.”
By the time they tip off in Saturday’s first game, the Buffs will be on the last day of a 14-day break. They haven’t played since March 9, when they lost 61-47 to Stanford in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament in Seattle.
Lappe said the layoff can be viewed in “a few different ways. We’ve used it as some time to get some rest, and get some time away, so I think that is going to be very beneficial for us. I think we feel good, our legs are going to feel great. Obviously there’s that period of time if you have a long layoff where you haven’t competed, but we have practiced hard, we have a great group of practice guys that come in everyday and help us out.
“The most important part is what we do this week. This week will be like any normal week, we have four days to practice and then we will be getting ready to play on Saturday, so it’s a pretty typical week in terms of what were used to in the Pac-12.”
Jeffery, the team’s leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and rebounder (8.3 rpg), will close out her home career with an NCAA appearance she’s dreamed of.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It just shows how far we have come as a program, and how great the coaches have been at turning it around. And it’s all a tribute to my team, we have good players and we play together and we’ve had a great season. It’s just really satisfying to go out as a senior like this, and I just want to thank my teammates and my coaches for that.”
In the days preceding Monday’s Selection Show, Jeffery and the Buffs engaged in their own “bracketology” and tried to determine who they might play and the other two teams that would land at the CEC.
“We’ve been trying to figure that out for a long time, looking at the brackets and stuff like that, but you can’t really know,” she said. “We were way off (on their projections), we thought we were going to be up with Notre Dame, but we were off. We’re excited though.”
If the Buffs win their two home games, the Irish still could be in their future. Notre Dame is the No. 1 seed in the Norfolk bracket but plays its opening games in Iowa City. CU and Notre Dame would play in a Sweet 16 game on March 30.
The Buffs reaching the NCAA Tournament has caused a quandary for the family of CU redshirt freshman forward Arielle Roberson. Her brother, Andre, is a junior forward on the CU men’s team, which plays Illinois Friday in Austin, Texas, in the men’s tournament.
In high school in San Antonio, Arielle said she and Andre competed in the playoffs at the same time, creating a similar dilemma in the Roberson family. She called this week’s NCAA play at different sites “a great opportunity for both (of us), but it’s another competition in the family – who’s coming to who’s game.”
Maybe this is what they can hope for: Arielle and the CU women win two in Boulder and advance to Norfolk, Va.; Andre and the CU men win two in Austin and advance to Washington, D.C. That’s close enough for a close family to commute.
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CU women fall to Stanford
0March 10, 2013
Story by B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor, CUBuffs.com
The usual script for the CU women is to struggle in the first half and come back in the second to win. Stanford reversed the script Saturday night.
For just over a half Saturday night, the Colorado Buffaloes showed they could stay with powerful Stanford. Staying with Chiney Ogwumike and remaining in touch with their game proved to be much more difficult for the Buffs.
Behind Ogwumike’s 25 points and 19 rebounds, the top-seeded Cardinal finally pulled away from the fourth-seeded Buffs for a 61-47 win and advanced to Sunday’s Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship game at KeyArena.
The fourth-ranked Cardinal (30-2) plays No. 3 seed UCLA (25-6), which upset No. 5 seed California 70-58 in Saturday night’s first semifinal.
“I’m proud of how we played; we played hard the whole game,” CU coach Linda Lappe said. “I liked how intense we were for about 30 minutes and then I thought our missed shots began to affect our demeanor . . .
“Stanford is a good team for a reason; they execute when they need to execute. We’ve got to understand that teams that are good are going to make runs and not beat themselves. We have to go get it. As you get in the NCAA Tournament you understand it’s one-and-done . . . I have no doubt we’ll be ready to go.”
Losing for the first time in 11 games, the No. 18 Buffs (25-6) now will wait until Selection Sunday to see their NCAA future – and it should be bright. CU hosts first- and second-round NCAA Women’s Tournament games at the Coors Events Center on March 23-25. Chances appear good that the Buffs will open the tournament on their home court.
The Buffs held a 28-27 halftime lead Saturday night, with their defense to thank. The Cardinal shot just 28.1 percent (9-for-32) in the first 20 minutes, and had it not been for Ogwumike, Stanford would have been deep in the woods with no way out.
The 6-4 junior was scoreless for the game’s first nine minutes, but once she got going, the Buffs had a hard time handling her.
“She’s good . . . a tough load in there,” Lappe said. “She plays a lot of minutes, she’s fit, strong and has a good skill set. I thought we made her work for everything she got – that was one of our goals. I thought in the end her rebounding hurt more than anything else.”
Lappe was right about the Buffs making Ogwumike work for her points. In her 39 minutes, Ogwumike hit just nine of her 24 field goal attempts but was 7-for-10 from the free throw line. The Cardinal attempted 29 free throws, making 22, while the Buffs only attempted four, making three of those.
Over the first half’s last 11 minutes Ogwumike scored 14 of the Cardinal’s 18 points. And by halftime she had a double-double, collecting 10 of Stanford’s 21 first-half rebounds. The Cardinal won the board battle 43-37. Stanford also outscored CU 26-16 in the paint and got 18 points off of the Buffs’ 15 turnovers. The Cardinal committed 10, resulting in 13 Buffs points.
Stanford, said CU senior Chucky Jeffery, “started getting the ball into Chiney and started knocking down shots . . . we weren’t making shots and that got us in a little slump. We couldn’t sustain anything and couldn’t get on a run to answer. Bottom line is we couldn’t knock down our shots.”
CU junior post Rachel Hargis opened on Ogwumike and was doing a credible job until picking up her second foul. The defensive chore then went to, among others, redshirt freshman Arielle Roberson and true freshman Jamee Swan.
“She’s a really good player, very strong, physical and active,” Roberson said. “We managed and held our own for a time.”
During that time, the Buffs needed to be more efficient offensively, but couldn’t. “Defensively we were outstanding,” Lappe said. “Without the last few minutes there we held them to about 55 points (it was 55-42 with about six minutes remaining). And when you hold Stanford to 55 points you have to win. We missed a lot of good shots, we took good shots, but we didn’t knock them down. You can only hold them for so long before they start to build that gap.”
With a team-high 19 points, Jeffery moved into sixth place on the school’s career scoring list. Roberson added 10 points and eight rebounds, and junior Brittany Wilson added contributed six points, three of them on the 100th three-pointer of her career.
Jeffery was high scorer with 19 points
If the Buffs were leading by only a point at halftime, they believed they were sending a larger message. At halftime of their first meeting in Boulder, CU trailed by 17. Three weeks later at Stanford, the Buffs trailed by nine at the break.
The Buffs went on to lose both games by double figures, so Saturday night they measured major progress at halftime with a single digit. Lappe liked her team’s first-half effort, but added, “We’re not into moral victories; we’re not happy that we were ahead at halftime. We wanted to win the game.”
CU got a three-pointer by Lexy Kresl to open the second half and took a 31-27 lead. But Stanford caught up quickly at 36-36 and just kept going. The Cardinal got a conventional three-point play from Amber Orrange, a Sara James trey and two free throws by Ogwumike to take a 41-36 lead with 13:05 to play.
It was the largest lead of the night by either team and in a bump-and-grind game like this it looked even larger. And it grew.
After two empty Buffs possessions, a pair of baskets by Mikaela Ruef completed a 9-0 run and opened a nine-point (45-36) Stanford lead. With 10:38 remaining, CU needed a timeout, and if the Buffs weren’t fully on the ropes, reaching out to them was no problem.
Stanford took its first double-figure lead (49-38) on a pair of Ogwumike free throws, then she added two more points with a steal and layup with just over nine minutes to play. The Cardinal increased its advantage to as many as 15 in the final three minutes.
“We competed well for a huge portion of the game,” Lappe said. “We stopped defending a little and that’s when they went on their run. We have to learn how to score and step up against good teams when they make a run.”
Jeffery said the first half and the early portion of the second 20 minutes showed the Buffs that, “We’ve got a lot of fight in us, we showed a lot of resilience in that first half. To hold the No. 4 team in the nation to that type of half was good for our team. We know what it takes and we know we have to take that extra step and put a 40-minute game together.”
The 14-point loss, she added, “doesn’t take away from our confidence . . . we’re not down. We just have to regroup for the NCAA Tournament.”
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CU skiers psych out the competition and win NCAA championship
0March 9, 2013
Reid Wins Freestyle Title,
In Friday’s slalom, the University of Colorado ski team played it conservative, knowing its strong suit lay ahead in Saturday’s Nordic freestyle races. And with a first place and two runner-up efforts, the Buffaloes rallied to comeback from a 54-point deficit to win its 19th national championship in skiing, its seventh coed to go with 11 men’s and one women’s.
The largest final day rally in NCAA championship history gave Colorado the school’s 25th overall national title, when combining three in men’s cross country, two in women’s XC and one in football. It is CU’s second ski crown in three years, having won in 2011 in Stowe, and of the 19 total, nine have now been won in the east.
Since the sport went coed in 1983, this marked just the fifth time the third day or six-event leader did not hold on for the win, but the third time in the last six years. Vermont rallied from 10 points down to New Mexico to win in 1992, and did so again in 1994 when trailing Utah by 31 points, previously the biggest comeback on the final day. Denver rallied in both 2008 and 2009, overtaking a 17.5-point CU advantage and a two-point margin by UVM, respectively.
“It’s never happened that we had this young of a team, there is a lot of discipline involved and you don’t always display the maturity to do it in your freshman year,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said. “Suddenly, you’re on a leash, you have to finish your runs. It was our strategy to hold back a bit, and while it’s not perfect, it’s the only way to accommodate this format of racing.”
It was Colorado’s seventh national championship under Rokos, as he tied the legendary Bill Marolt, who coached CU to seven straight from 1972-78 before leaving to coach the U.S. National Team. “That was my goal originally, to reach what Bill Marolt accomplished in seven years. It took 23 years, but you know, seven isn’t my lucky number, so I’ll keep going,” Rokos joked.
Despite competing here with seven freshmen, easily the most by any contender, Colorado tallied 708 team points, with Utah taking over second after the last event with 665 points; Vermont, which had led after each of the first three days, finished in a distant third with 653, while Denver was fourth (629). The leader at the midway point had won six straight and 10 of the last 12 times, and schools leading after three days (six events) had won 16 of the last 18.
“I don’t know if it’s totally hit me yet, I felt it was a pretty long shot entering the day,” CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “I knew we’d need some help from Vermont, which we got, but what an awesome day. NCAA’s, anything can happen, and things happen quickly.
“Almost a 100-point swing for a day is pretty big,” he added. “Obviously Vermont had some bad luck and probably didn’t have guys skiing their best, but credit our guys, everybody skied their hearts out. The girls set the tempo, got us the lead, and once that happened, the guys knew they could maintain it. I was too nervous to think we could do it, even in the men’s race with the lead.”
The women’s 15-kilometer race was first up Saturday, and set the tone for the day. Senior Joanne Reid took the lead at the beginning and dipped into second just once after the second split, eventually pulling away from the field in an impressive winning time of 38:17.8. At 20 years, eight months and nine days old, she became the third youngest Nordic female national champion, second youngest at CU to Kristen Petty (20, 2, 24) who won in 1985; Vermont’s Laura Wilson was a two-time champ in classic and freestyle in 1990, three months younger than Reid.
Senior Eliska Hajkova was second in 38:44.6, giving the Buffs two first-team All-Americans; it was the fifth honor for Reid and the fourth for Hajkova. Freshman Maria Nordstroem played a key role as well despite battling illness and being on antibiotics, finishing 12th in 39:57.1 and helped earn 125 points scored by the CU women. That was more than enough to overtake Vermont, which netted just 55, and it gave Colorado a 16-point cushion heading into the men’s race.
Reid’s mother, Olympic speed skating gold medalist Beth Heiden, won the cross country title skiing for Vermont in 1983, the first year the NCAA sponsored women’s skiing after absorbing the old AIAW (Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women).
“It feels amazing,” Reid said of her final collegiate race. “My mom’s got connections here, she can do what she wants, so I saw her at the finish line and it was great. It’s cool that we have both now won NCAA Individual titles. Especially because every time I go skiing with here, they just list all her awards so now I have one that she has. I just need a few more world championships in other sports now to catch up.”
“I was really worried about falling, because I’m small, and I get knocked pretty easily, so Eliska and I just decided to go out fast and get in front and go,” Reid said. “I’m more comfortable leading. I have a weird style so it’s hard for me to follow. When I got passed, I just got really nervous that they would break away so I passed them right back. I didn’t realize I had a gap, when you get a game there’s a hush over the crowd, that’s when I realized I had a breakaway.”
Reid is the sixth CU woman be crowned an NCAA freestyle champion, joining Anette Skjolden (1992), Line Selnes (1998), Katka Hanusova (2000), current CU assistant coach Jana Rehemaa (2006) and Maria Grevsgaard (2008). It was her ninth win this year, third-most in a single season behind Selnes and Grevsgard, who had 11 those same years. It was also Reid’s 11th career win, tying her for fifth all-time at Colorado, and the NCAA-leading 86th all-time a CU skier.
It was the sixth time at the NCAA Championships since 1983 that Colorado skiers produced a 1-2 finish, the first since 2008 when Grevsgaard and Lenka Palanova also did it in the freestyle, though that year it was a 5K. In 2006, it happened in the 15k classic, with Rehemaa winning with Grevsgaard second. CU also had 1-2 finishes in 1999 (women’s giant slalom), 1988 (men’s 20k classic) and in 1991 (men’s 10k freestyle).
“I’m so proud of Eliska, she was right next to me for most of the race, we inspire each other,” Reid said. “That helped me. She’s an amazing sprinter, and amazing skier, that made my race complete when she won the sprint to get second.”
The men still needed to hold off Vermont, which had a strong men’s Nordic team that had captured four of the top nine spots in the East Regional. The 20-kilometer race didn’t disappoint, as a lead pack never broke away from the rest of the field; just 28 seconds separated the top 13 skiers and just 40 seconds the next 12 after that.
And it was the tightest at the front of the race, where Utah’s Miles Havlick out-sprinted CU sophomore Rune Oedegaard at the very end, Havlick winning in 50:13.4 with Oedegaard six-tenths of a second back (50:14.0).
With coaches and staff calculating where the Buffs stood against Vermont throughout the race, it became apparent with one lap remaining that Colorado appeared to stave off any charge from the Catamounts. Freshman Gustav Nordstrom finished in 51:10.1, less than 50 seconds out of the lead but 22nd overall, while junior Andreas Hoye was 32nd in 53:36.8.
Only one UVM skier was in the top 10 for any of the splits, and he soon vanished by the fourth split; the other Catamounts struggled, one rising out of the 20’s to 16th in the middle split, and the other actually in last for several splits until rising to 33rd in the end. The Buffs actually wound up holding off a determined Utah squad, which placed two others in the top five behind Havlick and won the race with 133 team points while CU was third (73); Dartmouth was second with 90.
“What I was thinking was to stay in the lead all the way, have fun all day,” Oedegaard said. “With what the girls did today, we knew it was our day headed into the race. We all talked, Andreas and Gustav and myself, we knew we had the lead but we still wanted to chase, not be defensive. We want to chase this, we want to beat Vermont and do all we can. During the race, I looked around and didn’t see any Vermont skiers in the top group and I knew we had it and I just wanted to enjoy it on the last lap.
“On the last uphill, I tried to push,” he continued. “I felt like Miles and I, I knew we were going fast, but it was a big group going into the last uphill and we were both several seconds up on everybody else by the end. I knew we were going fast, but he was so strong today, he wanted to revenge his fall from the first day, and when that happens, you can dig a little deeper. At that point I knew we had the team win, and I had the win on Thursday, I maybe didn’t have as much as he did to pull from.
“This is more than I could’ve dreamt of going into the NCAA’s this year,” Oedegaard said. “It’s such a credit to Bruce today, too. We all felt like we had the best and the fastest skis on the course today.”
“It was a little weird,” Gustav Nordstrom said. “This morning when I woke up, I didn’t really believe we could do it, I just tried to focus and have a good race and see what could happen. After the girls, I was able to see that we could do it. I was super nervous, I felt good, had good skis, I got a little tired in the end, but I was a little conservative. It was nice when I passed the Vermont guys, I knew I had them behind me and I felt safe. I saw them all the time. I just focused on my own race, and when none of the Vermont guys were no longer ahead of me, I felt safe and then I focused on going as fast as I could.”
“I didn’t have the perfect day today, but it was enough for the team,” he added. “This was such a team effort. We didn’t have our best week, but we were solid and then we had some heroes like Rune and Joanne and Eliska taking a lot of points.
“Maria was really fighting today, we got some big heroes,” Nordstrom said of his sister. “I feel sorry for the (other) Buffaloes that couldn’t be here today. This season has been really amazing; there are a lot of guys at home that could’ve done the same performances we did today. It’s sad they couldn’t be here with us today.”
“We are looking forward to going home and start preparing for next year,” Rokos concluded. “As soon as this thing ends, you’re already thinking about how to do it next year.”
The title is also the 454th national championship won by a Pac-12 Conference member school, the third this athletic year, joining Oregon (women’s cross country) and Southern California (men’s water polo). It is CU’s first “live” contribution since joining the league in July 2011, as CU’s last national championship was also in skiing in March of that year, four months before becoming a Pac-12 member.
NCAA Championship Team Scores (Final, 8 events)— 1. Colorado 708; 2. Utah 665; 3. Vermont 653;
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Sandy Hook was a wake-up call for schools
0March 6, 2013
by Ron Baird, news editor
in News
Written by Ann Schimke on Mar 5th, 2013. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
School security has been beefed up across the country since the shooting at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School left 20 students and six staff members dead in mid-December. Colorado is no exception.
Some districts are locking front doors, installing video buzzer systems, or implementing tougher rules for school visitors. Other districts are partnering with local law enforcement agencies to conduct staff trainings, emergency drills or building security reviews. In a few, measures such as bullet-proof glass or school marshals, similar to air marshals, are under consideration.
“This struck home with people all across the country and Douglas County was no different,” said Sgt. Kevin Moffitt, supervisor of the School Resource Officer Unit with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “We had parents crying on the phone, ‘Our children are out there unprotected.’”
The response was similar in the Durango area, said Kathy Morris, the regional safe school coordinator for the San Juan Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
“The questions started coming: ‘What are you doing about safety and security on my child’s campus?’”
With nine districts in her jurisdiction, including one with just 50 students, the answers vary. They include “vulnerability assessments” of school buildings, a review of open campus policies and a look at hiring school resource officers for the six districts that don’t already have them. Also, two elementary schools, both of which are on highways, have installed video buzzer systems at their front doors.
Morris said her districts have also continued efforts to educate students about Safe2Tell, an anonymous statewide system that allows students or parents to report threats of school violence or other dangerous situations.
Reviewing building security
Many school administrators have conducted walk-throughs of their buildings with law enforcement personnel to familiarize them with the facilities and evaluate security weaknesses.
School safety resources
In the Fremont R-2 School District in Florence, officers from three local police departments, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado State Patrol and even wildlife officers have toured district schools in recent weeks, receiving packets with aerial photos and maps of the schools and protocols for different types of emergencies.
Ultimately, every potential first responder in the county will have received the same training about school emergencies, said Florence Police Chief Michael DeLaurentis.
“If it ever does happen, we’re ready for it,” he said.
In addition, local police officers have stepped up their presence at Fremont school buildings, stopping by at unscheduled times to chat with staff or eat lunch with students.
A similar effort to increase police presence at schools has been underway in Douglas County since shortly after the Sandy Hook shootings. It came out of a meeting between district administrators and law enforcement personnel the Monday after the shootings, Moffitt said. Participants expressed particular concern about the district’s elementary schools, which don’t have school resource officers like the middle and high schools do.
The district and sheriff’s department quickly launched a program in which six patrol officers monitor 38 elementary schools every day, “walking hallways, giving knuckles to the kids, having lunch with them,” said Moffitt.
In addition, all officers were encouraged to pull into elementary school parking lots to write up reports instead of doing it at their substations or another location.
“The response from the public has been very supportive,” Moffitt said. “It’s brought the officers closer to the community.”
Exploiting the front door
John Nicoletti, an expert on school and workplace violence prevention, said that in most shootings by outsiders unconnected to the school, attackers “come right through the main entrance.”
For this reason, many districts are re-evaluating open-door policies that have long been in place. In addition to locked doors, districts are developing stricter rules for monitoring visitors and asking staff to step up enforcement of existing policies.
In Boulder Valley schools, more front doors have been locked in the last few months and visitors are now more likely to be asked for identification before entering. Twenty-three of the district’s 55 buildings have phone cameras at the front door, requiring visitors to be buzzed in by staff. In some schools, interior doors leading to classroom wings are also locked during the day, with staff unlocking them to admit visitors as needed.
Last week, the Brighton 27J School District finished installing visitor screening systems in 16 district schools, including 2 charter schools. The systems, which were already in place at four schools, require visitors to present identification at the school’s reception desk, undergo a background check of sex offender registries and wear a visitor’s badge that includes a photo.
“We made the decision in January following the Sandy Hook tragedy that we would implement that at all our schools,” said Kevin Denke, the district’s public information officer.
If visitors are flagged by the system, it doesn’t mean they will be prohibited from entering the building, he said. Instead, staff members will be alerted and may take precautions such as escorting visitors to their destination and back.
Keeping a community hub inviting
It’s not easy to lock school doors or tighten visitor rules without compromising the friendly, welcoming atmosphere that many schools seek to foster. That’s the fine line district leaders are walking right now as they update safety procedures or install new security systems.
Morris said there has been some resistance from parents who are not used to the stricter rules about signing in at the front desk and wearing a visitor badge.
“I’ve had some parents say, ‘I don’t have to sign in.’”
They relent once they’ve been briefed about why the procedures are in place, which is both for student safety and to ensure emergency responders know the number and identity of people inside the building in case of an emergency.
“Once the principal talks to the parents, they totally get it,” she said.
In the Brighton district, the biggest concern voiced about the new background check system was whether it would block access by parents who may lack an acceptable photo id because of undocumented status. Denke said the district may address that problem by issuing its own photo id card that affected parents could use in the schools.
Colorado schools ahead of the curve
It can be chilling to hear about active shooter drills or on-the-spot background checks for parent volunteers, but after Sandy Hook, the Aurora theater shooting and the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, few school leaders believe their districts are immune to violence, including mass murder.
“It could happen anywhere,” Morris said. “It could happen here and I do prepare for that.”
Insights like this have produced a focus on violence prevention in many school districts. In fact, experts say Colorado is ahead of other states in terms of school safety.
Columbine changed everything, said Nicoletti. In particular, many school districts got proactive about identifying and handling “insider” threats, or students, parents or other members of a school community whose behavior or communications prompt concern. Insider threats make up about 70 percent of shootings, he said.
Chris Harms, director of the Colorado School Safety Resource Center, said aside from Columbine, a 2006 hostage crisis at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey and a 2010 shooting at Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton have also impacted school safety efforts across the state.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had more than our share in Colorado,” Harms said.
Harms said the renewed focus since Sandy Hook on preparing for school emergencies is “the silver lining to the very bleak tragedy that was.”
“It got people to think about this again.”
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CU men lose to Golden Bears, throwing NCAA bid in doubt
0March 3, 2013
The Cal Golden Bears are one of the hottest teams in the PAC-12 right now, having won seven in a row. The Buffs poor shooting doomed them from the start.
CU, ranked fifth in the Pac-12 Conference going into Saturday’s game, falls to 19-9 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12. The third-ranked Golden Bears, winning their seventh consecutive game, improved to 20-9 overall and 12-5.
Colorado struggled offensively Saturday with a season low in points, field goals made (15) and field goal shooting percentage (23.1). Freshman forward Xavier Johnson was the only CU player in double figures with 14 total points. Freshman Josh Scott returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. He scored four points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Cal’s Justin Cobbs and Tyrone Wallace scored 16 points each, while David Kravish added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Wallace also hauled down 11 boards.
“We didn’t have one guy offensively make a shot tonight, but you have to credit Cal, they man-handled us,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “Our first shot defense was pretty good but those second-chance shots were tough.”
The Buffs came into Saturday’s matchup looking to smother guard Allen Crabbe, the leading scorer in the Pac-12 at more than 18 points per game. But when Crabbe recorded his third personal foul with 5:11 remaining in the half, he took to the bench.
An improving Cal team executed offensively without its star scorer, though. The Golden Bears went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to go up 22-15, and while senior guard Sabatino Chen hit a three to end the half on an energetic note, the Buffs were still down four (24-20) at intermission.
The Golden Bears held the Buffs to just 26 percent shooting in the first half, CU’s worst first-half field goal percentage this season, and the Buffs’ 20 first-half points tied a season low recorded earlier this season at Washington.
Much of CU’s shooting woes came from a failure to capitalize off of Cal turnovers, as CU had a +2 turnover margin going into halftime, but had five fewer points off of turnovers than its opponent.
The Buffs found some energy out of the locker room, closing the gap back to two on a Xavier Johnson trey with 14:16 left in the game. Cal responded, though, with an 8-3 run over the next five minutes capped by a SC Top-10-worthy dunk by guard Tyrone Wallace.
Cal had widened its gap to nine by the 5:32 mark — and with a final shooting percentage of 23.1 from the field, the Buffs’ comeback attempt came nowhere close. By the final buzzer, CU was down 16 for a 62-46 loss.
“Cal wasn’t this Cal when they came to Boulder a month ago,” said Boyle, whose team won the first meeting 81-71. “So they’ve improved We were the best defensive team in the league for a stretch there but these guys have overtaken us and you can see why.”
CU returns to the Coors Events Center next weekend for its final two regular season matchups, against No. 24 Oregon on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Oregon State on Saturday (2:30 p.m.).
Boyle called Saturday’s contest “a big time game and we didn’t answer the bell. But it wasn’t because of our lack of effort and we can’t get too down on ourselves. We have two big games at home to finish out the season.”
At 12-4 in the Pac-12, the Ducks currently hold the top spot in the conference, while the Beavers are ranked 11th at 3-13.
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CU women beat Oregon, gain a first round bye in PAC-12 tournament
0March 2, 2013
Story by Caryn Maconi, CUBuffs.com
EUGENE, Ore. – It wasn’t pretty but it was a win. The Buffs women’s basketball team earned its eighth straight win and 23rd of the season with a 60-49 victory over the Oregon Ducks here Friday night. It wasn’t pretty but it was deja vu coach Linda Lappe; the last time CU won 23 games she was a senior playing fror legendary coach Ceal Barry and CU made it to the Sweat 16.
With the win, the Buffs clinched a first-round bye for the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament next weekend in Seattle. CU plays at 3:30 p.m. MST on Friday at Key Arena, meeting the winner of Thursday’s game matching the No. 5 and No. 12 seeds.
Arielle Roberson was high scorer with 16 points
“I think (the bye) gives us more confidence going in,” said redshirt freshman forward Arielle Roberson, who led CU in scoring Friday night with 16 points. “We’ll be rested more than other players will, and we’ll have more time to prepare, so it’s definitely a great thing.”
Colorado head coach Linda Lappe said the bye was well-earned, but that she’s setting her sights on more than just that accomplishment.
“We’ve worked really hard for that bye, and eight in a row is something you don’t see all the time,” Lappe said. “It hasn’t always been pretty, but we’ve come together when we’ve needed to, we’ve been tough when we’ve needed to be tough . . . we have bigger goals than just the four-seed.”
The 2012-12 Buffs may be headed for a similar destiny at 23-5 overall and 12-5 in the Pac-12. First, though, they’re taking care of business in the final weekend of the regular season, starting with Friday’s rout in Eugene.
It was a messy win for CU, but a win nonetheless. The Buffs forced 21 Oregon turnovers and committed seven, but shot just 34.8 percent from the field compared to the Ducks’ 37.5.
“We never really got into a flow offensively,” Lappe said. “We couldn’t convert those turnovers into baskets very often, which hurt us, and we just didn’t get the shot that we wanted to . . . when you shoot 34 percent that’s not very good. So to be able to win, that’s good.”
CU struggled offensively without guard Lexy Kresl, a force from beyond the arc. The sophomore is out with a separated right shoulder suffered in a Feb. 17 win over Arizona State.
Lappe said Kresl’s absence made the Oregon zone defense harder to handle.
“We did miss Lexy in this game,” Lappe said. “You want her against the University of Oregon, they play 40 minutes of 2-3 zone. Lexy obviously does a really nice job of for one, passing, and extending the defense out there. It was really, really hard not to put her in tonight.”
While Colorado’s defense came to play from the start, its offense occasionally struggled to capitalize off of Oregon turnovers. However, it did convert the Ducks’ 21 errors into 20 points. Though the Buffs committed just five turnovers compared to the Ducks’ 13 in the first half, CU only had a three-point advantage at intermission.
The game remained tight in the second half until the 12:25 mark, when freshman guard Kyleesha Weston lit the spark that would ignite CU’s offense.
Weston hit a three-pointer, then grabbed a steal on the next possession. Roberson then continued the run with another three at 12:07 to put the Buffs up 36-29.
“It looked a little dead out there,” Weston said. “I was told that I needed to pick up the energy. That’s when I’m at my best, when I have a lot of energy, so I felt like I could spark the team.”
Lappe said Weston’s determination off the bench was a sign of maturity for such a young player.
“That stretch there was huge, and even for (Kyleesha) to come in and knock down that three when we hadn’t hit that many, that shows a lot of guts and resiliency as a freshman,” Lappe said. “For her to step up and knock down shots when nobody else was shows a lot of toughness. That fired everyone else up.”
The Ducks would not pull closer than five for the remainder of the game, as the Buffs built their largest lead, 16, on a Jasmine Sborov three with 4:05 remaining.
In addition to her game-high 16 points, Roberson had four rebounds, a block and a steal. Senior guard Chucky Jeffery recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds, earning her 30th career double-double.
Colorado also held an opponent to under 50 points for the 12th time in 28 games; the Buffs are undefeated in all 12 of those games.
CU finishes its final regular-season weekend with a matchup Sunday at Oregon State (1 p.m., MST).
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Roberson’s Career-High 24 Pushes Buffs Past Cardinal
0February 28, 2013
by B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor
Release: 2/27/2013
STANFORD, Calif. – Andre Roberson woke up “sick and woozy” on Wednesday morning. By Wednesday night, he was much, much better – and Stanford was feeling ill.
Behind Roberson’s career-high 24 points and eight rebounds, Colorado edged the Cardinal 65-63, giving the Buffaloes their first Pac-12 Conference sweep of Stanford and their first-ever win at Maples Pavilion.
“Our players deserved that win,” said CU coach Tad Boyle, whose team improved to 19-8 overall and 9-6 in the conference.
“For what they’ve been through, how they battled and the heart they played with, they deserved that.”
Andre Roberson set a personal best for scoring in the game against Stanford
Roberson, a 6-7 junior, got scoring help from sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie with 19. They were the only two CU players in double figures.
In a postgame interview on KOA Radio, Roberson said after waking up feeling subpar on Wednesday morning, “I drank a lot of fluids, took some medicine. But Trae (Tashiro, trainer) had me on the right path and I had to come out here and take care of business. You have to fight through it.”
The win kept the Buffs in contention for the No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 tournament (March 13-16, Las Vegas). Said Roberson: “This means a lot for us . . . also in terms of the Pac-12 standings we’re trying to get that fourth seed. We’ll see how it goes.”
Stanford (16-13, 7-9) had three players in double digits – Andy Brown with 17, Chasson Randle with 16 and Dwight Powell with 12. Powell almost ended with 14 points, taking an in-bounds pass with 2.4 seconds to play, turning on Roberson and going to the basket for a jam that would have sent the game into overtime.
But he had too much court to cover in too little time – and Roberson knew it. “I knew they were going to play the three or attack the rim,” Roberson said. “He went past me and I said, ‘Oh, shoot’ . . . but the ball was still in his hand when the light went off.”
After a collective CU sigh that might have rattled windows in the Rockies, the Buffs had their eighth win in 10 games and their third consecutive conference road win for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Boyle called Roberson “a beast” for his offensive effort and lauded his overall defense on the 6-10 Powell. Boyle also said when Dinwiddie “plays aggressively and attacks the rim, and Andre plays like he did, those two are special.”
But overall, it was another special night for the Buffs. They won without 6-10 freshman center Josh Scott, who received an elbow to the head on Feb. 16 against Arizona State and did not play last week against Utah. Scott made the trip to the Bay Area but was held out of Wednesday night’s game. In CU’s 75-54 win against Stanford on Jan. 24, Scott scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Scott’s status for Saturday, when CU plays at fast-improving California (2 p.m. MST, ESPNU), is to be determined. Against Cal in Boulder on Jan. 27, Scott contributed five points and three rebounds. Nonetheless, the Buffs won 81-71, but since then the Bears have won seven of eight – including five straight.
Boyle said Scott “is getting closer every day . . . we wouldn’t have brought him if we didn’t think there wasn’t a chance of him playing.”
CU led only once (2-0) in Wednesday night’s first half and trailed 32-31 at intermission. Over the first 6:00, the Buffs shot horrendously, making only two of their first 13 shots and trailing by as many as 10 points (15-5).
But they refused to roll over, launching an 11-2 run that brought them to within 17-16 with 10:06 left before the break. They forged ties at 25-25 and 27-27 before the Cardinal answered with a 5-0 run to go up 32-27.
But CU closed the half with baskets by Dinwiddie and Jeremy Adams to account for their one-point deficit at intermission.
Dinwiddie’s 10 points topped the Buffs in the first 20 minutes, followed by Roberson with eight and Adams with seven off the bench, giving him 13 in the first halves of his last two games.
The difference in the first half for Stanford was its three-point shooting; the Cardinal hit five of their nine trey attempts while the Buffs were one of eight from beyond the arc. Stanford finished 9-of-20, CU 4-of-18.
The Buffs shot 42.9 percent from the field to the Cardinal’s 39.0 percent and outrebounded the home team 34-33. CU scored 36 points in the paint to Stanford’s 22.
The Buffs made only one of their first four shots over the first four-plus minutes of the second half, and the Cardinal outscored them 8-2 to go ahead 40-33 with 15:36 remaining. And when Randle drained a three-pointer from the right wing,
Stanford had matched its largest lead of the game – 10 points – at 43-33.
But as they did in the first half facing a 10-point deficit, the Buffs had a swift response. Dinwiddie scored five points to spark an 8-0 run, pulling CU to within two (43-41) with 11:50 to play. Less than two minutes later, a triple by Roberson with the shot clock at :02 brought the Buffs to within one (45-44).
And “Dre” was just getting started. He drained another trey, followed that with a layup, then watched Askia Booker hit a layup to send CU ahead 51-45 – the Buffs’ largest lead of the night.
After trailing by 10, CU had strung together an 18-5 run, but Stanford wasn’t finished. Another Randle three-ball, followed by a Brown tip, brought the Cardinal back to 51-50.
But the Buffs didn’t surrender the lead, going up by as many as six before a Josh Huestis tip brought the Cardinal to 61-59.
Dinwiddie answered with a layup (63-59) but he also got a technical foul for touching the ball after it came through the net.
Aaron Bright hit one of two free throws (63-60), but Roberson was fouled on a rebound and hit two free throws (65-60) with 15.1 seconds to play. Then a Brown triple from the left corner pulled Stanford to 65-63.
Dinwiddie was fouled with 4 seconds showing, but missed the front end of his one-and-one. Stanford controlled the rebound and called timeout with 2.4 seconds left. Powell got the inbounds pass, pivoted and went to the basket and jammed it . . . but it was too late.
“I saw the light go off (around the backboard),” a relieved Boyle said. “It was a break this team needs and deserves . . . Powell made a good play, there wasn’t just enough time for him, thank goodness.”
